Shoe heel and sole assembly and method



May 17, 1960 .1. MELTZER SHOE HEEL AND SOLE ASSEMBLY AND METHOD Filed June 11, 1958 iNVENTOR: 15

TACK E'LTZE? United States Patent SHOE HEEL AND SOLE ASSEMBLY AND METHOD Jack Meltzer, Hollywood, Calif.

Application June 11, 1958, Serial No. 741,255

2 Claims. (Cl. 36-245) This invention relates generally to footwear, and has particular reference to shoes of the type in which there is a separate heel secured in position by means of nails or equivalent fasteners.

The invention is primarily intended to improve the structure of high-heeled womens shoes, particularly the kind in which the heel is relatively narrow and has a forwardly arching heel breast, this particular type of heel being often referred to as 2. Louis the Fifteenth heel. However, certain phases of the invention are not necessarily restricted to a heel of this particular character or shape.

It is a general object of the invention to'provide an improved means for strengthening the assembly of the heel with the outer sole to which it is attached.

Another objective of the invention is to provide an improved construction which simplifies the manufacturing procedure and assures a more uniform output.

A further object of the invention is to provide a construction in which the heel is enveloped in a novel manner within a snugly fitting heel cover, and in which the heel may be caused to appear higher than it actually is.

Another object of the invention is to achieve these general advantages without impairment of the softness and comfort of the shoe when it is worn.

The forward tapering of a round-breasted heel, especially when it is unusually high and narrow, creates a weakening of the heel in the forward upper region, and creates ditficulties in conventional shoe-manufacturing procedures. For example, it is common practice to split the outer sole at the rear end, to provide a downturned flap which lies over the heel breast, and trim down the remaining part of the rear end of the sole so that it may lie snugly within the concavity of the top surface of the heelw Where the heel is tall and narrow, the available surfaces are often inadequate to support the fasteners by means of which the heel is to be held in place. Moreover, the manipulation and trimming down of the sole at its rear end is a tedious and painstaking procedure, often unnecessarily increasing the cost of the shoe. Also, since each shoe must be individually assembled, and since heels are themselves not always uniform in dimensions, especially when they have relatively thin and weak front edges, the shoes that are produced are frequently of insufiicient uniformity.

It is a general objective of the present invention to obviate these disadvantages by means of an improved interrelationship of the parts entering into the shoe construction.

Several ways of achieving these objects and benefits, and such other advantages as may hereinafter appear or be pointed out, are illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of an article of footwear constructed in accordance with this invention;

Figs. 2 and 3 are similar views, showing other types of shoes embodying the features of the invention;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view substantially along the line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view substantially on the line 55 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the heel and the rear part of the sole during an intermediate stage of the manufacturing procedure;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 4, taken substantially along the line 7 -7 of Fig. 2 to show the internal construction of the modification of Figure 2; and

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 6, showing an intermediate stage of manufacture in creating the shoe of the modification of Fig. 2.

The shoe depicted in Fig. 1 comprises an outer sole 10, a covered heel unit 11, an upper having an open-toed vamp part 12 and a rear strap 13, and a padded sock lining 14. The rear part of the sole 10 is split to define a thin flap 15 which is turned down and adhesively secured to the front face of the heel unit.

As indicated most clearly in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, the heel unit comprises a solid core 16, usually of wood, and a snugly fitting heel cover 17, of appropriate leather, plastic or other selected heel-covering material. The heel cover has front margins which lie snugly against the front surface of the core 16, beneath the flap 15. The top surface 18 of the heel core 16 is usually slightly concaved, and the curved sides and rear of the heel, along its upper edge, define a rather sharp attenuated periphery.

In practicing the present invention, the rear or heel part 19 of the sole 10 is skived or thinned down along its edge, but its horizontal dimensions are purposely left undiminished, so that the edge conforms in peripheral contour to that of the upper edge of the heel. The upper surface of the heel core 16 is seated firmly against the under surface of the part 19 during the assembly of the shoe. Since the part 19 is deliberately not reduced in horizontal dimensions prior to its association with the heel, it provides a convenient guide for properly posi stiifener 23, the parts 22 and 23 extending forwardly be yond the front edge of the heel itself, in conventional fashion.

During this procedure, the heel cover 17 is left un attached at its upper end. In accordance With this invention, the upper margin of the heel'cover 17 is adequate to extend upwardly around the peripheral edge of the heel part 19 of the sole iii, and after the heel has been fastened, the upper margin 24 of the heel cover 17 is turned in and adhesively secured in position on the top surface of the part 19. Thereafter, a sock lining is laid over and adhesively secured to the top surface of the sole ill, and in the preferred embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1-6, the sock lining is of the padded variety, that is, it consists of a soft padding 25 completely covered and enveloped by a covering 26 which is the sock lining itself. The padded unit, consisting of the parts 25 and 26, is well known in the art, and it is pre-formed, the dimensional curvature at the rear end conforming substantially to that of the part 19. In this way, it is a relatively simple procedure to secure the padded sock lining to the shoe by adhesive, thereby concealing not only the heel fasteners but also the inturned margin 24 of the heel cover 17, and imparting to the shoe the finished attractive appearance best indicated in Fig. 1.

As a result of this arrangement and design of parts, the heel is firmly and rigidly secured to the sole, yet

Patented May 17, 1960v the shoe presents a soft and comfortable surface to the foot of the wearer. Moreover, the heel presents a slightly higher appearance than would ordinarily be the case, and this isv a desirable feature of ornamentation.

The modification of the invention illustrated in Figs. 2, 7 and 8 involves the employment of a platform element 27 which is laid over the outer sole 28 after the heel fasteners 29 have been applied. In this case, as befor, the fasteners 29 extend through a stiff element 30 and a metal shank stiifener 31. The heel cover 32 is in this case provided with an upper margin 33 which extends upwardly to envelop not only the heel part of the sole 28, but also the edges of the platform element 27. This platform element may be of any desired character, composed of a single piece (as shown). or of a padding or the like enclosed within a covering. The heel cover margin 33 is turned in to lie upon the top surface of the platform element 27, and then a sock lining 34 is adhesively applied to the element 27 and to the, inturned heel cover margin 33. In this case the sock lining 34 may be a relatively thin piece of appropriate material, although if added height or additional comfort is desired the sock lining might be of the padded variety shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

The construction shown in Figs. 2, 7 and 8 involves, as before, the split-away flap 35 at the rear end of the sole 28, this flap being adhesively secured over the curved heel breast.

It should be understood that the representation of the parts in the accompanying figures is somewhat exaggerated, to clarify the disclosure. In practice, the edges of the rear or heel part of the sole, and the edges of the platform element itself, may be somewhat thinned in the region where the heel cover margin 33 envelops them. The shaping and proportion of the several parts may also be somewhat different in practice, to impart desired ornamental lines and contours to the shoe as a whole.

The shoe depicted in Fig. 2 is provided with an upper which consists of an open-Work series of straps 36 in the vamp region, and a rear heel-engaging strap 37. In Fig. 3, a construction is shown which is a modification of the shoe in Fig. 2, in that the upper 38 is arranged only in the forward part of the shoe. In this case the heel cover 39 is extended at its forward end, as indicated at 40, to envelop the edge of the sole 41 in the region directly in front of the heel proper. Where a platform element is employed, the part 40 of the heel cover extends also around the edges of this element, as will be readily understood.

In general, it will be understood that the details herein described and illustrated may in many respects be modifiedv by those skilled in the art without necessarily depart- 4 ing from the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. in a shoe, a heel, an outer sole Whose rear end has an edge conforming in peripheral size and contour to the upper edge of the heel, fasteners extending downwardly through said rear end of the sole into said heel, a platform above said sole and conforming thereto in peripheral contour, a sock lining, anda heel cover snugly enclosing the rear and side walls of the heel and having an upper margin extending upwardly to enclose the edge of said rear end of the sole and also the edge of said platform, the upper edge of said heel cover margin being turned in to lie beneath said sock lining.

the method of making an unlasted shoe, the steps which comprise: providing an upper, a sole, a heel and heel cover, and a sock lining, the sole having its rear end peripherally configured to conform in size and contour to the upper edge of the heel, attaching the upper to the sole in the forward region thereof, applying the heel cover to the heel so that it snugly encloses the rear. and side walls and provides a margin extending upward beyond the upper heel edge, seating the rear end of the sole on the heel so that it is closely conformably received within the upwardly extending margin of the heel cover, applying fasteners which enter the exposed surface of the rear end of the sole and pass completely through the sole into the heel to fixedly secure the sole to the heel, subsequently turning in the upwardly extending cover margin to cover the adjacent peripheral edge of the sole and overlie the upper surface of the sole, securing the inturned portion of the cover margin to the upper surface of the sole, and securing the sock lining to the upper surface of the sole to hide the fasteners and the in-turned portion of the cover margin.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,190,775 Krohn et al. July 11, 1916 1,942,652 Kershaw Jan. 9, 1934 1,968,047 Lovejoy July 31, 1934 1,998,813 Joyce Apr. 23, 1935 2,059,185 Miller Oct. 27, 1936 2,067,963 Joyce Jan. 19, 1937 2,353,396 Gallo July 11, 1944 2,457,082 Fennessy Dec. 21, 1948 2,469,561 Kainborian May 10, 1949 2,546,296 Braun Mar. 27, 1951 2,732,635 Frost Jan. 31, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,063,657 France Dec. 16, 19,53 

